COP26 President Visits Buretu Village
What Matters For Fiji Which Is One Of The Countries On The Frontline Of Climate Change Is To Ensure We Get Support: Alok Sharma
Friday 29 July 2022 | 18:58
COP26 President Alok Sharma (wearing garland) got to see some of the impacts of climate change on Buretu Village in Tailevu. When he visited the village, Buretu Development Chair, Sunia Vosikata (wearing orange shirt) showed Mr Sharma and his delegation some of the damage. Photo: Kelera Sovasiga-Tuisawa
COP26 President Alok Sharma’s visit to Buretu village in Tailevu on Wednesday was yet another grim reminder of where the world is headed if big emitters are left to carry on with their business as usual attitude.
The physical evidence of salt water intrusion and coastal erosion was evident across the village - and in hundreds of communities across Fiji.
Mr Sharma said his visit has boosted the need to challenge world leaders with the need to act now and deliver the promises of the Paris agreement and on climate financing.
“The message that I’ve heard is loud and clear, is that what matters for Fiji which is one of the countries on the frontline of climate change is to ensure we get support."
“Support in terms of being able to adapt to the changing climate and you are seeing here of why support is needed to adapt to the changing climate, to make sure we get more finance flowing as well and of the issue of loss and damage which has also come up during this visit,” Mr Sharma said.
Getting a firsthand tour of the affected sites, Mr Sharma was impressed by the resilience of Buretu villagers. Walking around the waterlogged and uneven grounds, Mr Sharma was concerned about how villagers used available resources to recover dry land.
COP26 President Alok Sharma arriving in Buretu village, Tailevu. Photo:Kelera Sovasiga-Tuisawau.
“We must try further action on adaptation, finance, mitigation of loss and damage and this includes making further progress on the global goal of adaptation and operationalizing the Santiago network on finance,” he said.
Before his site visit in Buretu village, he added that it is the indigenous groups that are vital agents of change as they are powerful leaders in the work to develop nature-based and resilience solutions.
Despite having a compact seawall infrastructure built in 2014 as part of USAids Coastal Community Adaptation Project (CCAP), the village continues to face the wrath of sea level rise and saltwater intrusion.
Mr Sharma’s visit is part of the UK COP Presidency work to push for updated climate commitments from all countries ahead of COP27 in Egypt, and limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees
Feedback: adi.sovasiga@fijisun.com.fj
